Ultimate Taste Test 2014 with San Miguel Lifestyle Brews

Thursday, October 02, 2014



San Miguel Super Dry, Cerveza Negra and San Miguel Premium All Malt Beer

I've been able to cover the first and second Ultimate Taste Test and was kinda sad I didn't get to do the third one. The stars and the planets aligned this last weekend and got us to attend the greatest foodie event in Metro Manila, Rockwell's 4th Ultimate Taste Test 2014. It's where 50 of Manila's greatest home based food businesses and Power Plant's Restaurants converge. Participants become true blue food reviewers for a day to see who fares the best in this year's Ultimate Taste Test 2014. The hits will also be gladly paired with their favorite San Miguel Lifestyle Brews which I saw all over the venue that afternoon which includes even the desserts which I'll let you see in a bit. Let's start the ball rolling shall we?

Fisher Farms Gourmet Baked Rellenong Bangus
I liked the part where it's baked so it's not as oily as your regular Rellenong Bangus. The taste, it was good but it leaned more into the sour side which might be caused by uneven distribution of the ingredient on the slice that I got or, it might be just the way it is. I give credit to the thought of baking this thing rather than deep frying because it presents a more healthier alternative to an already healthy fish. We'll score this 3/5. 

Belly Bob's Boneless Lechon Belly de Cebu paired with San Miguel Super Dry Beer
Belly Bob's Boneless Lechon Belly
Seeing the rolls of Boneless Lechon Belly on the display counter just made my mouth water. I thought it was going to be a hit already because it is after all lechon. The spice was good, the taste of the meat was good, but when I did take a bite on it I felt it wasn't "all that" good. It was a little upset because I had high hopes for it judging from the way it looked. It was good that this is the Ultimate Taste Test so I was with other foodies on the venue and when I asked about it, they had nothing but good things to say about the lechon belly. I got worried, so I went back to the Belly Bob's station and tried to taste it again. That's when I found out that I was tasting something off because the thing they served me the first time was cold. The hot one I got tasted differently and was a whole lot better. The air conditioning in the venue might have been the culprit. This thing should have a warning sign on it that it's best when eaten hot otherwise, they'll have a problem on the ratings later on. I'm giving this 4/5 on the premise that it's hot, when it's cold it would be like a 2. The beer made my life better as it's my favorite beer in the world. San Miguel Super Dry was perfect with the savory lechon, even more if it's ice cold!

EXCLUSIVE: Ella, Nash, Jane and Diego for BUM Holiday Collection

Wednesday, October 01, 2014


We've been fortunate enough to have been able to cover the shoot/behind the scenes for Jane Oineza and have released that a few weeks ago. This time we're going to release the Holiday collection for them too, it'll be together with Diego Loyzaga. I remember vividly how they had fun during the shoot as it was light and you wouldn't see if they were stressed or anything. Ella Cruz was still her playful self, you can never take that out of her of course. Nash Aguas on the other hand was also giddy posing for the camera being his cool self that afternoon. I must say it was effortless for these guys and gals to be in the HOLIDAY shoot for the Philippines' most awesome street wear brand BUM.

Let's take look at it shall we?

Nash and Ella with Photographer Ash Reginald Evasco taking a look at their shots that afternoon.

I guess Nash was a little bit intrigued about the things they wore too. They flipped on the photos and saw the holiday collection flash before their eyes. It was cool.

While they were preparing the backdraft and lights, I went inside the dressing room to say hi. He was busy reading Twitter on this bit I think.

He didn't move quite much as I was clicking but when I asked BUM people if it was okay to shoot, he stood up!


Oops! Sorry I think I saw some girls fainted already! Haha!
I saw her tinkering around with the stress on her pants and then she looked at the camera with a huge smile.



Then after that, they had to fix her up again for the shoot. She had like 4 people working on her hair, her makeup and wardrobe.

Shopping for Men's Fashion Made Easy at Lamido

Tuesday, September 30, 2014


Screenshot of Online Shop heaven http://www.lamido.com.ph/ (image not mine)

Christmas season in the Philippines started in the BER months. That starts when the month's name ends in BER that is. With the rate we're going, we're way behind schedule and we haven't been able to shop as much as we wanted. Now think about the amount of people that you haven't given any gifts during last year's holiday and you'll probably be a little sad because 1.) You may not have much time to shop 2.) Malls are too far 3.) You don't like walking around all day and still couldn't find that perfect little gift for your special someone/the one you love. It's a dilemma I know, but it's probably solvable. How? Easy, have you tried shopping online? If not, then maybe the Lamido buy and sell site interest you. They are a part of the Lazada group known for the biggest online retail stores here and around the world.

It's not easy picking a gift for a guy like me. I am so involved in fashion for men that I might discriminate a little when it comes to clothing, shoes or accessories. Hard to please? Yes I am, but if I shop I already know what to choose as soon as I get to a store and I see it. Women on the other hand would be an entirely different case. They roam around, pick one up, try it on, take it off, try another one on, spin around and return the merchandise. Somehow, I don't remember an easy breezy day in the mall when I have to accompany ladies I know there. Now, when they want to do that they would be able to do it right in the comfort of their own homes. You give them the choice, they pick the color and sizes and voila! You can have it delivered right to your doorstep, some even for free!

The best thing is, you don't have to go out and drive for that. You save on gas, you save on dining out, you save on the trip and you don't waste time spinning around the mall like a gopher who's lost his own hole. That's great technique right there which you can smash outside the ballpark, give yourself a pat on the back then say "I did good today!".


Oh and if you're still looking for more ways to shop, your Android phone might come handy. Get it from the Google Play store in this URL: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lamido.android&hl=en. You'll thank me afterwards! By the way, I already found a couple of watches that would fit me quite nicely, if you want to buy me one I won't stop you! Ha!

COW

For more information about their shop:
Lamido PH
Lamido PH
Like them on Facebook


Visit their official website

http://www.lamido.com.ph

Chynna Ortaleza for Dementia



Just like you, I've been watching her on TV for the longest time. She's now doing serious acting both on TV and movies. Speaking of which, she's also starring on an independently produced film called DIMENSIA with no less than the one and only Superstar Ms. Nora Aunor. It's a tall order for everyone to say the least to be working with Nora, let alone be in scene with her. Chynna would have been very nervous, we got that vibe from her but she feels very blessed to have been able to do it.


Chynna tells us about the Director Perci Intalan's style and says "If we are on a take or if he's explaining something, it's like you were talking to your brother and he doesn't stop himself from telling you what needs to be done. He also tells it nicely and he never got angry on the set. He kept it happy so all of us felt that way all throughout the filming. We also felt like he was a friend and not just a Director. His system on how he get things done was unbelievable. We did if fast and I guess that's where his experience in production goes as we get the job done without getting tired at all. That's why Ms. Nora also loves him, you would not get the same intensity if he didn't care about his actors and he knows that. He didn't even show us the film and I was so surprised when I saw the final product because I couldn't even recognize myself. For a director who had just done his film debut, this is really excellent. It's even better than some of the films done by masters of Philippine cinema. He's also going to get better at this so just imagine. We also got this to be an entry in Portugal for this genre. I hope I find time to go there too and experience that to get feedback from other nationalities."



"Dimensia as accorded by Director Perci Intalan's vision is to really try to reshape horror in the Philippines. The progression for that genre in Japan and Thailand is really good and we're kinda stuck with our own monsters and there's really nothing new. It's not super original but it's well made. It's not a sell out horror flick and we want to show them the workings of the mind. Sometimes fear comes from you. That's why it's called Dimentia. At first you might get scared but there's drama, there's a story. That's going to be your takeaway, you think about what happens in your life after the movie. That's the great thing about Perci Intalan's film. The cinematography and sound is clean and I'm so proud of it. That's why I always ask people to watch it. Batanes is so amazing. It's so sad sometimes that we make really good movies but we don't see people watching it that much. Then people from other countries notice it faster than we do. So if you like the film, please see it and tell other people about it. I hope they get to make more films because they've done a great job, hopefully to revamp Philippine cinema."


"It is horror but it's not really to scare people, we don't want this to bother you but rather think. That's the intention. We want you to enjoy the film but take away what happens when a person has Dimensia. We want you to think about your own reality. I really like the first few reactions we got from the people watching the film. They have really mixed opinions. Working with Nora was in my bucketlist, I had this audition last February 14. Even if I didn't have a date, I was glad because the gift was mind boggling that it was Nora Aunor that I was going to work with. I couldn't really believe it. It took me two weeks to finally realize I was really going to work with her. Perci was always telling jokes about it. I hope every actor gets to work with her. They will really learn a lot. We were in Batanes for two weeks, I was still star struck. Even if she didn't treat me like I was, after a scene, she told her manager to pull me and said to me "You were great in that scene!"...after she said that, I just broke down. I just said, because that complement came from you. I was really overwhelmed. She was laughing at me, but I felt like I won an Oscar."


"Initially, they were having a hard time finding the young Olivia to play the younger me on the film because they couldn't find one that would be able to look like my eyes on the film. The stares I do, they had a hard time. Christine Joy arrived, and they casted her. She's believable like me so it was like perfect for the casting. Dimentia is a little chaotic for Mara Fabre. Things will unravel in the middle of the film, everything is inserted and you wouldn't be bored like putting the pieces of the puzzle they had to put together. Like the Monet painting she was trying to solve. The doll was Olivia's by the way, it's not Maria Leonora Teresa."


We then watched the film the day after. I must say they did do it differently. I don't want to spoil the story for you but in a nutshell, the performance highlights were when Chynna was in shackles. You should watch out also for Nora Aunor's tight facial shots because you will be moved by her eyes much like her other films have always shown. It's in the eyes.



The magnificent landscape views in Batanes is like a dream, you'll see it as a perfect backdraft for the story and make the people see a part of the Philippines that's less traveled. You'll really be creeped out on parts of the film wherein they did intend to scare you. I didn't find Jasmine Curtis' performance too good on some scenes but we can laud her on those where she got possessed which comes a little later on the film. Overall, it would come to a point where it'll make you think. This is exactly the reason why Perci Intalan made this film, he has achieved his story telling even on a very limited budget. That's massively important, to just get your point across. I can imagine this would have been better with more computer graphics especially on perceiving a more contemporary ghost like appearance on the ghost that's in the film. It's already being shown on theaters (since the 24th!) so I suggest you take the trip to the mall and watch it especially because these are probably one of the few films that Nora Aunor will make in this decade.

Good job Chynna! You did good.



COW

For more information about their movie:
Dimentia
Dimentia
Like them on Facebook


Visit their official website

https://www.facebook.com/Dementia2014Movie